Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
When he first came to the gym,
no one paid much attention to him.
In my head, I called him Gramp,
because he looked like he had celebrated his 100th birthday.........
10 years prior.
Usually any elderly patron in the gym
migrated to one area of the weight room,
where they focused on reps with light dumbbells
similar in weight
to a can of peas.
Not Gramp......
My first clue that something was different
was when he went over to the pull up bar
and quickly notched 10 reps,
without breaking a sweat.
I quietly did my 15
as Gramp motored over to the incline
where he promptly barked out 20 crunches....
at a 45 degree angle
He must be getting ready for Spring Break,
I jealously thought to myself...
Gramp pulled off another set of pull ups....now up to 12
It was then, I thought, that Gramp must have overheated himself,
because He went to the men's locker room to remove his baggy outer sweats.
When he returned,
He was in gym shorts and a muscle tee.
It was then that the entire gym noticed......
Gramp was ripped.
Really ripped.
He had guns that would have made the NRA happy.
His chest screamed V for Victory,
and his thighs could have passed for tree trunks.
Take away his wrinkle lined face,
you would think this guy was getting ready for his prom.
As I got off the leg crunch,
I began to remove the four 45 lb weights that I was using
"If you're finished, just leave them on there"
Gramp said politely.
I scurried over to the other side of the weight room,
trying to look busy,
but keeping one eye on Gramp.
He took care of my four 45 lb weights,
10 reps as if they were styrofoam.
He then proceeded to add two more to the rack.
I think he was making out his grocery list while pumping,
then two more.....
I think now, he was smoking a cigarette.
He then needed to go to another machine
to pick up 2 more 45 pounders,
because he had used all the ones at the leg crunch.
Inside my head I was feverishly trying to do the math....
10 times 45lb....add the weight of the bar.......
I shrieked at the weight total.
He just leg crunched a small car, I thought.
Gramp came back
and knocked off another set of pull ups (now up to 14),
20 more crunches,
this time while holding a 10 lb weight.
Some younger ladies in the gym
between the ages of 70 and 80
were swooning over Gramp.
In 25 minutes,
Gramp had become a rock star.
My first impulse,
is to look upon the outer appearance.
Jesus warned us about doing so.
Looks can be misleading.....
widows with their mites can be the most the most vital givers,
short tax collectors can become giants of the faith,
women of ill repute become mothers of The Way
An ordinarily looking Nazarene can be the saviour of humanity.
May we all come to a spiritual maturity
where we take time to see what's on the inside of each person,
and not judge solely on outward appearance and behavior.
I no longer call him Gramp.
I call him Champ.
Do not judge according to appearance,
but judge with righteous judgment.
John 7:24
no one paid much attention to him.
In my head, I called him Gramp,
because he looked like he had celebrated his 100th birthday.........
10 years prior.
Usually any elderly patron in the gym
migrated to one area of the weight room,
where they focused on reps with light dumbbells
similar in weight
to a can of peas.
Not Gramp......
My first clue that something was different
was when he went over to the pull up bar
and quickly notched 10 reps,
without breaking a sweat.
I quietly did my 15
as Gramp motored over to the incline
where he promptly barked out 20 crunches....
at a 45 degree angle
He must be getting ready for Spring Break,
I jealously thought to myself...
Gramp pulled off another set of pull ups....now up to 12
It was then, I thought, that Gramp must have overheated himself,
because He went to the men's locker room to remove his baggy outer sweats.
When he returned,
He was in gym shorts and a muscle tee.
It was then that the entire gym noticed......
Gramp was ripped.
Really ripped.
He had guns that would have made the NRA happy.
His chest screamed V for Victory,
and his thighs could have passed for tree trunks.
Take away his wrinkle lined face,
you would think this guy was getting ready for his prom.
As I got off the leg crunch,
I began to remove the four 45 lb weights that I was using
"If you're finished, just leave them on there"
Gramp said politely.
I scurried over to the other side of the weight room,
trying to look busy,
but keeping one eye on Gramp.
He took care of my four 45 lb weights,
10 reps as if they were styrofoam.
He then proceeded to add two more to the rack.
I think he was making out his grocery list while pumping,
then two more.....
I think now, he was smoking a cigarette.
He then needed to go to another machine
to pick up 2 more 45 pounders,
because he had used all the ones at the leg crunch.
Inside my head I was feverishly trying to do the math....
10 times 45lb....add the weight of the bar.......
I shrieked at the weight total.
He just leg crunched a small car, I thought.
Gramp came back
and knocked off another set of pull ups (now up to 14),
20 more crunches,
this time while holding a 10 lb weight.
Some younger ladies in the gym
between the ages of 70 and 80
were swooning over Gramp.
In 25 minutes,
Gramp had become a rock star.
My first impulse,
is to look upon the outer appearance.
Jesus warned us about doing so.
Looks can be misleading.....
widows with their mites can be the most the most vital givers,
short tax collectors can become giants of the faith,
women of ill repute become mothers of The Way
An ordinarily looking Nazarene can be the saviour of humanity.
May we all come to a spiritual maturity
where we take time to see what's on the inside of each person,
and not judge solely on outward appearance and behavior.
I no longer call him Gramp.
I call him Champ.
Do not judge according to appearance,
but judge with righteous judgment.
John 7:24
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